


White Lies and Red Cheeks

by EliotByNight



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, and slight angst, but really slight, come on it's kaisoo, oh so much fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 19:22:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14503806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EliotByNight/pseuds/EliotByNight
Summary: Jongin fakes to be sick, so that Kyungsoo takes care of him.





	White Lies and Red Cheeks

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [White Lies and Red Cheeks](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/377496) by ELIOTbynight. 



He didn’t remember what he had eaten for lunch, nor if he actually had eaten something, but Jongin refused to believe he was coughing just for some saliva that went down the wrong way – even though it was the only possible option. He was okay even with just coughing for anything, if he hadn’t been busy with a photoshoot.  
He knew he had been coughing for too long, when he saw the photographer lowering his camera with a sigh.  
  
“Be careful! Are you okay?” Chanyeol asked, sitting in front of him and smiling.  
  
Jongin glared at him and put a hand on his mouth, coughing harder and bending a little. Finally that weird tingle in his throat disappeared and he could take a long breath. It was now, that he felt a little and gentle hand on his back.  
  
“Are you alright?” Kyungsoo murmured, posing next to him. “I’ll buy you something to drink later.”  
  
Jongin looked at him and saw the most beautiful smile he had seen on his face. Light, delicate, caring. His heart melt and his cheeks became red just like that. He nodded and smiled, without being able to say anything.  
  
In that moment, Jongin had an idea. An awful idea, but also a wonderful idea.  
  
  
*  
  
  
“Aren’t you hot?” Sehun asked, being the most innocent person in the world.  
  
Jongin blinked, as if he had heard a very weird question. “No, why?”  
  
Because you wore a scarf and a turtleneck sweater with eighty degrees outside and Baekhyun wearing slippers, that’s why.  
This is what Sehun would have answered, if the interviewer of that day didn’t come to start her interview to the group for a magazine.  
  
After a bow and the usual greetings, the interview started normally and Jongin acted a cough every five minutes. It was part of his plan, but… would it work?  
  
“Hey.”  
  
Jongin almost jolted and turned towards Kyungsoo, who was calling him from the next chair.  
  
“Don’t get sick now, we are performing this weekend.” Kyungsoo whispered, with a hand on his mouth not to be heard too much.  
  
He looked quite serious, but Jongin couldn’t help staring. When those eyes became bigger and were addressed to him, it was impossible to look away.  
  
“I’m afraid … it’s a bit late …” Jongin said after a while, touching his covered neck and clearing his voice.  
  
Kyungsoo showed a worried expression that made Jongin feel guilty for acting a role, but the next second he changed his mind again, feeling Kyungsoo’s hand holding his own. Jongin suddenly started sweating inside his sweater.  
  
“I hope it doesn’t get worse … otherwise, I will have to take care of you!” Kyungsoo murmured again, smiling a little.  
  
Jongin then knew he had to fake even a malaria, if he wanted to being taken care of by that little angel went down from the sky.  
  
Jongin smiled and laughed a bit with him, squeezing his eyes shut in excitement when Kyungsoo rested his head on his shoulder. It lasted only a couple of seconds: the following question was for him and he immediately went back standing on the chair.  
  
The plan was working.  
  
  
*  
  
  
For a moment, only for a moment, Jongin thought he was bored. After all, he was lying on the bed with his mobile phone, while his collegues were in the practice room. There was nothing more difficult to accept for his artist soul, even if he thought he could rest for once. But it was enough to think about Kyungsoo promising to spend his spare time with him after practice and Jongin found the strength to hold on.  
  
He took the heavy blanket and covered himself, being sure that everything for his act was ready. The tissues were on the table and the sweater was on, even though Jongin was feeling deadly warm.  
  
Finally there was a knock at the door and Jongin rolled in the blanket like a happy burrito. “Come in!” he said, before seeing Kyungsoo’s little head.  
  
“Hey! I have something for you …” Kyungsoo greeted him with a grin and Jongin thought he had such a hopeless crush on him, because he was so beautiful.  
  
Jongin made himself comfortable in the bed and only his head was coming out of the blanket. “What, what?” he repeated in excitement.  
  
“Cough syrup.” Kyungsoo answered, sitting next to the bed and showing the little bottle with another grin.  
  
Jongin sulked majestically, but stopped when saw Kyungsoo smiling.  
“I guess I have to.” He said.  
Luckily he had studied acting, otherwise it would have been impossible to hide his disgust and displeasure, drinking that undesired dose of cough syrup. What was good came after. Something way sweeter.  
  
“So tell me … how was practice?” he asked, faking a rough voce and restraining himself from making weird faces, since the syrup’s bitter taste was still in his mouth.  
  
With his usual simplicity, light sadism and mistrust towards his collegues, Kyungsoo told the misadventures and efforts of the group during practice. He showed Jongin some pictures and videos where Jongdae and Sehun improvised a tango and Junmyeon tried a pirouette and ended with his face on the floor.  
Jongin regretted not to have been there, but even now, it was enough to see Kyungsoo’s smile and he thought he didn’t want to be anywhere else, doing nothing different than listening and staring at him.  
  
They stayed there talking for hours. Kyungsoo had dinner with Jongin and never thought about leaving him alone.  
The only problem was, the more Jongin faked to be sick, the more his friend took care of him and Jongin felt an enormous guilt growing in his chest.  
  
  
*  
  
  
No, he couldn’t go on like that. Though he tried, Jongin couldn’t fake completely not to be able to move. He loved dancing more than he loved himself, his body almost ached, thinking he didn’t practice that day.  
  
So here was him, going to the practice room in the middle of the night, while everyone was sleeping and no one could see him, theoretically.  
He could finally feel alive, he could take a break from his act and from his thoughts keeping him under pressure in his idol life.  
  
Jongin danced for at least two hours, before he really couldn’t stand on his feet anymore. He was still sweating under his clothes and was careful not to be heard, while going out in the cold night to go back to sleep, before someone noticed his absence. But in the exact moment he opened the door, Kyungsoo stepped towards him, sleepy in his coat.  
  
“Jongin?” he murmured, blinking to see better. “What are you doing here outside? You will catch a pneumonia too …”  
  
Jongin froze, both for the cold and the fear. He tried to say something, but he was too much insecure and Kyungsoo opened his eyes better seeing what he was wearing under his jacket: just his beloved sweatpants and a light hoodie, which he usually used for practice.  
  
“You went to practice?” Kyungsoo asked, sounding much more awake.  
  
Jongin stared at him with guilt, without the courage to say anything. He saw the look in Kyungsoo’s eyes change and felt like dying.  
  
“Jongin.” Kyungsoo started, lowering his scarf to speak. “You were in your bed, coughing and catching a flu just some hours ago.”  
  
“I know.” He answered and his voice went magically back to normal. “I’m sorry.”  
  
Kyungsoo’s eyes became big and full of disappointment, but in some seconds they got small again, full of complete displeasure.  
  
“I was going out to buy some medicine for you, you know?” he murmured, before going back inside.  
  
Jongin knew to be wrong and couldn’t stand the thought of making his friend worry and get up in the middle of the night to buy him medicine just to satisfy a selfish whim. He could imagine how Kyungsoo felt: surprised, disappointed, confused, fooled. But this didn’t stop him from following him and try to explain.  
  
“Wait, Kyungsoo!” he exclaimed, feeling really sorry, but Kyungsoo ignored him and went back to his room.  
  
Jongin stayed for a while on the door, feeling like the worst idiot ever. He lied to the person he was the most attached to in the group and it was enough to wish to disappear.  
  
  
*  
  
  
“Ah, it went well!”  
  
“Yes! But that empty space …”  
  
“Hey, I filled it very well!”  
  
“I wouldn’t be so sure.”  
  
Kyungsoo didn’t say any comment about that performance. It wasn’t that he didn’t agree with them, but he was thinking about someone else.  
  
When the guys went back to the dorm late at night, they relaxed and ordered food – for Jongin too, and there was a moment when everyone knew Kyungsoo was the one who had to bring it to him in his room. Kyungsoo just rolled his eyes, feeling the others staring at him, but he didn’t protest.  
  
He entered in Jongin’s room and couldn’t help smiling: Jongin was wearing a light blue pyjama, at least three pairs of socks and two blankets around his body. He was pale, his eyes wet and the fever that was getting worse.  
  
“Don’t laugh.” He snapped and sulked.  
  
“You had it coming, you know.” Kyungsoo sighed. He was talking about when Jongin stayed for too much time in the cold two nights before, when he went to practice secretly and faked to be sick.  
Now he was sick for real and it was hard not to make fun of him for it.  
  
Jongin didn’t ansie and just thanked him when he received his box of fried chicken.  
  
“How is your throat going?” Kyungsoo asked, sitting next to his bed.  
  
“Better.” Jongin shrugged. “But I’m starting to have stuffy nose.”  
  
He sniffled and Kyungsoo shook his head in disapproval, resigned to how his friend could be so awkward.  
  
“Why did you do that?” he asked, seriously.  
  
Jongin hesitated for a long moment, eyes down and blankets tighter around him.  
  
“I did it for you.”  
  
Kyungsoo blinked without understanding.  
  
“I wanted to spend my time with you. I mean, I wanted you to spend it with me, taking care of me …”  
  
His words weren’t so clear, but his expression was, while he took some tissues to blow his nose.  
The truth was there now and the paler was Jongin’s face, the redder were Kyungsoo’s cheeks.  
  
“Oh. Well … y-you could have just asked me.” He said in embarrassment. “Was it so hard?”  
  
Of course not.  
Jongin shook his head slowly and felt so much ashamed. Kyungsoo made himself smaller in his shoulders and stared down, his cheeks still red. Jongin noticed and blushed as well, playing with the edge of the blanket.  
  
“And … Since you are sick now, I can’t kiss you.”  
  
Jongin felt so much hot, that he thought he could suffocate, and stared at Kyungsoo, unable to do anything except trying to calm his crazy heartbeat.  


**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Some extra fluff for two precious beans - nothing more, really.  
> I think I will come back for something more consistent, bye! ;)


End file.
